Picture by Jonathan Macauley

An extraordinary picture of a contortionist from Featherstone painted as a giraffe is proving to be an internet hit around the globe.

Former Carleton Community High pupil, Beth Sykess, posed for the picture this weekend as part of a publicity stunt for her freelance work.

It took friend and freelance make-up artist Emma Fay, six hours to transform the 20-year-old into a giraffe.

She was then professionally photographed, and the image was posted on their facebook pages.

Before the could blink, it had been re-posted on the facebook page of Dutch primatologist and ethologist Frans de Waal and it had gone viral with more than 92,000 likes and 2,500 comments.

Miss Sykess’s dad Richard, 50, said: “It’s something they have been meaning to do for a while. They have had interest from places like China and America on the back of it. The response had been absolutely phenomenal.”

Miss Sykess’s, who took up gymnastics as a child, has worked all over the world for VIP’s and celebrities, including David and Victoria Beckham in the Maldives at New Year.